Long before cooking competitions dominated television, long before there even was television, Colorado communities revolved around food — growing it, preparing it and trading for it. The exhibits at the new History Colorado Center incorporate this essential element into the story of how we shaped the landscape, and how it shaped us.

In advance of the museum’s grand opening Saturday, State Historian Bill Convery came to a preview tour equipped with a miner’s lunchpail and as much enthusiasm for his subject as a bus full of kindergarten teachers.

Starting in the ground-floor exhibit, Destination Colorado, the ghost town of Keota comes to life, complete with a general store stocked with real 1920s tubs of peanut butter and lard, and replica cases of Beeman’s Pepsin Gum, Knox Gelatin and Ward’s Orange Crush.

In its heyday, the town numbered 140 people, scratching out a living from dryland farming. “Food is woven throughout this part of the story, and we try to engage as many senses as possible here,” says Convery as we enter the kitchen of a farmhouse where the sound of snapping peas will mingle with the smell of baking bread and apple pie.

“This is where we talk about women’s roles in farming communities. What’s making a difference are the home gardens, the milk, the eggs, the canning that the women produce as part of the domestic economy,” says Convery over the sound of a cow mooing in the nearby stable.

“The story ends with the future — as all of our stories do — history matters because it shapes who we are and gives us a glimpse of what we might be, moving forward.”

Moving upstairs, the Colorado Stories exhibit on the second floor “is our shared sense of character, of persistence, and the idea that it’s not always easy to live here, and that we really depend on each other to succeed,” says Convery.

“One of our great food stories has to do with Bent’s Old Fort,” says Convery. “This is the story of globalism in Colorado before Colorado even existed. People from all over the world were trading with each other in goods and ideas — from Asia, Europe, Latin America, North America — peacefully. This was a place where people cooperated with each other despite their differences.”

By the time travelers on the Old Santa Fe Trail arrived at the adobe “castle” in the Arkansas River Valley they were certainly tired, dirty and, most of all, hungry. They would not be disappointed, for the cook at the fort, Charlotte Green, was famed across the territory.

“Throughout the southern plains and the Rocky Mountains, she gained a reputation… for her amazing cooking skills. One source rated her a ‘culinary divinity. No fur trapper or Santa Fe Trail merchant bound for Bent’s Fort failed to quicken his step as he drew near, knowing he would soon be treated to one of Charlotte’s justly famous meals. The cook was best known for her pies, particularly pumpkin,” writes Marc Simmons in “New Mexico Mavericks: Stories from a Fabled Past” (Sunstone Press, 2005).

Although she was a slave, Green presided over the limestone hearth with authority, says Convery. The hearth, later unearthed in archaeological excavations, was returned to its place of honor in the fort’s reconstruction. Other digs uncovered duck, turkey, pronghorn, venison and buffalo. Ledgers from 1839 listed flour, dried peaches, cheese, rice, almonds, raisins and 1,190 pounds of bacon.

Some guests quenched their thirst with French wine; a bottle from the fort is on display at the new museum. “The bourgeois at the fort expected nothing but the best at their table,” says Convery.

As we enter the replica of a Silverton mine, the historian finally reveals why he is carrying a metal bucket. It’s a lunchpail like the miners would have carried — pop the top and you’ll find a fake pickle and Cornish pastry.

In a re-creation of the barracks at the World War II Amache-Granada relocation camp, the importance of food becomes evident.

“The kids started eating separately from their parents since everybody was eating in the big communal hall. So much of parental authority came around the dinner table,” says Convery. “The family structure was breaking down, but people were creative about finding ways to preserve their culture. They grew gardens, they began introducing rice, and they were making mochi for New Year’s, pounding rice in big wooden bowls. Food was a way to preserve their identity.”

Kristen Browning-Blas: 303-954-1440 or kbrowning@denverpost.com

History colorado center

The History Colorado Center opens Saturday. Hours are 10 a.m.-5 p.m.

Tickets: Adults $10; students and seniors $8; children (6-12) $6; kids 5 and under get in free.

Make cake: In a large bowl, using a mixer set on medium speed, combine butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla. Continue mixing on high speed for 5 minutes, scraping down sides of bowl occasionally.

Sift together flour, baking powder and salt. Add flour mixture alternately with milk to batter, beating well after each addition. Mix in orange rind and juice. Add food coloring to tint batter, if desired.

Lightly butter and flour two 9-inch pans. Pour in batter and lightly rap on counter to settle batter. Bake about 30 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans 10 minutes. Remove from pans and cool completely on racks before frosting.

Jean Detje, former president and general manager of Baur’s, developed the Mija Pie recipe for home use. Helen Dollaghan featured the recipe in her column in 1997. Makes one 9-inch pie, serves 10 to 12.

This was a primitve mint julep served at Bent’s Old Fort on the Fourth of July, according to Sam Arnold, the late owner of The Fort Restaurant in Morrison. These make good party drinks: Let guests shake them to bruise the mint and release its flavor. From “Sam Arnold’s Frying Pans West” (Fur Trade Press, 2011), makes 1 drink.

Ingredients

3 ounces bourbon or Scotch whiskey

1 tablespoon powdered or granulated sugar

1 sprig fresh mint

Crushed ice to fill jar

Directions

Combine whiskey, sugar and mint in a half-liter or wide-mouth canning jar with a lid. Add crushed ice. Shake until mint leaves are bruised.

Mexican Spoon Bread

This recipe calls for the spoon bread to be baked in a square pan, but it also works in an ovenproof bowl. From “Colorado Cache,” serves 9.

Ingredients

1 cup yellow cornmeal

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon baking soda

¾ cup milk

1/3 cup vegetable oil

2 eggs, beaten

1 17-ounce can cream-style corn

1 4-ounce can chopped, mild green chiles

1½ cups grated Monterey Jack cheese

Directions

Mix cornmeal, salt and soda. Stir in milk and oil, and mix well. Add eggs and corn and mix well. Spoon half of the mixture into a greased 9-by-9-inch baking pan. Sprinkle half of the chiles on top, then half of the cheese. Repeat layers, ending with cheese.

Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 45 minutes, or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean.

This should be spooned from the pan and eaten with a fork. It may be served as a substitute for potatoes with any kind of meat or poultry.